Big vs small company culture

[mobi]

From my experience I could see following difference:

Big company

* A well defined process for doing everything
* Things are planned and seldom adhoc
* People usually behave well and everyone is treated professionally
* Good documentation
* Good breathing space in office

This is applicable even if working in a small team in big company.

Small company

* Almost no proper process on anything. Everything is adhoc.
* People do design on one side or page and coding on other side
* No best practice standard
* Managers/directors often treat employees as slaves
* Small office makes people claustrophobic
* People always have work under pressure (as nothing is planned)

So, going forward, I decided to work in big organizations only (if I have a choice between big and small) even if pay is slightly lower in comparison.

[lxt04]

And what happens when you go to work for a big company that meets all of your bullet points for a small company? I think you've got a terribly simplistic view, and you probably just haven't worked for enough big companies yet! I'm laughing at your idea working for a small company means you 'always have work under pressure' and working for a large one doesn't!

[cojak]

A good decsion Sir. Leave the more interesting contracts to the big boys and girls.

Those contracts keep me in work

[MaryPoppins]

From my experience I could see following difference:

Big company

* A well defined process for doing everything
* Things are planned and seldom adhoc
* People usually behave well and everyone is treated professionally
* Good documentation
* Good breathing space in office

[northernladuk]

Sorry, I tried to be nice... I really did... but this is just rubbish. Really cba to explain why but made some changes to fix your comments

Big company

* A overly complicated and cumbersom process for doing EVERYTHING
* Things are planned and seldom adhoc and so overly planned that they never happen properly and take forever
* People usually behave well and everyone is treat like a number/automaton
* Good documentation stored in piles god knows where so you can never find them in their poor system
* Good breathing space in office if you are lucky enough to get in a decent office or health hazards if you are in the old building at the back of the site

This is applicable even if working in a small team in big company.

Small company

* Almost no proper process on anything. Everything is adhoc allowing you to think, be a professional and truley make a difference (if you are up to it)
* People do design on one side or page and coding on other side and get work done and achieve results
* No best practice standard so you can use your intelligence to make something better and that actually works
* Managers/directors often treat employees as slaves. Just rubbish. Don't even an answer to this one.
* Small office makes people claustrophobic. Another load of bollocks. No witty response to this one either
* People always have work under pressure (as nothing is planned). And deliver very satisfaying results and are given more freedom to produce if they can continue to produce money earning results. You make the cash you are treated very well

There are loads more I can add but I just cba. Remember it was some industry bigwig that said something like Process is for idiots that can't use common sense. Sometimes to get out of these companies and into small dynamic companies is just the best feeling in the world.

[mobi]

Hmm, looks like it is very much person dependent.

I have worked in ~10 big organizations and ~6 small cos. So, my judgment is entirely based on my own experience.

[original PM]

The answer from my experience depends on how well the company is doing - not so much it's size.

A company doing well generally has the characteristics you describe for a big company.

And likewise a company going through changes/belt tightening etc will show the characteristics you describe for a small company.

Ultimately it comes down to money.

[nomadd]

From my experience I could see following difference:

Big company

* A well defined process for doing everything
* Things are planned and seldom adhoc
* People usually behave well and everyone is treated professionally
* Good documentation
* Good breathing space in office

You clearly never worked in an Investment Bank, then. They are BIG, but completely the opposite of what you've quoted above. Try searching a few forum posts on the subject.

[dspsyssts]

You clearly never worked in an Investment Bank, then. They are BIG, but completely the opposite of what you've quoted above. Try searching a few forum posts on the subject.

Yeah very true, after working for UBS, JP Morgan, Sony and IBM I prefer small companies that keep their monthly back-ups in a cardboard box under a desk somewhere and that have a rest room with at least two guitars, good TV and dvd player like my last one did.....nice.

[kaiser78]

The answer to this conumdrum is .... 1